The present invention relates to a battery connector assembly, and particularly to a battery connector assembly for use with a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) wherein the battery connector has an improved contacts arrangement.
A PDA is a portable device for carrying data and information which can be connected to computers. It is always provided with a battery connector assembly for transmitting electric power between the PDA device and a printed circuit board (PCB). Taiwan patent application Nos. 84210634 and 83107591 disclose similar battery connector assemblies. Referring to FIG. 8, a prior art battery connector assembly comprises a receptacle connector 100 and a plug connector 200 mateable with each other. The receptacle connector 100 comprises an insulative housing 105 and a plurality of conductors 104 engageably received in the housing 105. The housing 105 defines a row of receiving slots 101 opened in top and side walls thereof and forms a row of partitions 102 separating the receiving slots 101 from each other. Each partition 102 defines a recessed opening 103 in one side thereof for receiving a corresponding conductor 104. The plug connector 200 is constructed to correspond with the receptacle connector 100 and comprises an insulative housing 201 and a plurality of conductive plates 202 assembled in the housing 201. In use, the plug connector 200 is mated with the receptacle connector 100 whereby the conductive plates 202 of the plug connector 200 electrically connect with the conductors 104 of the receptacle connector 100 to transmit electrical power and signals between the PCB and the PDA device.
However, developments in computers have resulted in faster and faster signal transmission demands. Electrical circuits in PDA devices are becoming more and more complex. Increasingly, the prior art battery connector assembly, with only a single row of conductors electrically connecting with a single row of conductive plates thereof, cannot adequately handle these faster signal transmission demands.
Hence, an improved battery connector which can provide more conductive contacts to transmit electrical power within a compact space is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a battery connector assembly having more contacts than the prior art yet within a compact space.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an assembly whereby all electrical connections are foolproof, safe and effective.
To fulfil the above-mentioned objects, a battery connector assembly comprises a plug connector and a receptacle connector mating with each other. The plug and receptacle connectors are similar in structure. Each comprises an insulative housing and two sets of conductive contacts engaged in the housing. Each housing comprises a first side having a step-shaped surface which forms a lower step and an upper step. Each step forms a row of partitions and defines a row of slots separated from each other by the partitions. The row of slots in the lower step is horizontally offset from the row of slots in the upper step by a distance equal to half the pitch between adjacent contacts. The slots in each step receive a complementary set of contacts. When the connectors are mated, the sets of conductive contacts in the lower and upper steps of the plug connector are mated with complementary sets of contacts in the upper and lower steps of the receptacle connector, respectively. Thus, compared with the prior art, roughly twice the number of conductive contacts are available in a given connector length for transmitting electrical power and signals. Furthermore, effective and safe electrical connection is achieved due to the horizontal and vertical offset between contacts.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.